Travel journalist Rebecca McCormick steps up to the plate, accepting the 2008 BestLife Challenge pitched by Bob Greene and Oprah Winfrey as her safe bridge to a healthy lifestyle.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Bleach Hair, Not Bottles

I'm working on a system to make sure I drink six 8-oz. glasses of water every day.

When I was a little girl, my mom let each of us kids store an empty syrup bottle filled with water in the fridge for quick swigs whenever we got thirsty. Mine was a Mrs. Butterworth's variety. My brother preferred the sleeker Log Cabin style.

Each week, our housekeeper would disinfect the bottles by filling them with a mixture of Clorox diluted in water. After letting them soak, she replaced the cleaner with clear water. Except one time, she forgot to pour out the cleaner.

Just before bed time, I chugged a only few swallows of the poison concotion before my throat started burning. Fortunately, my mom knew to rush me to the hospital to have my stomach pumped out. Obviously, I survived.

Chlorine is a powerful chemical that can be dangerous to use as a cleanser.

“A peculiar accident reported by the National Safety Council involved two housewives in separate cases. Both were using an ordinary toilet bowl cleaner. Not satisfied with the way it was removing stain, each one added some household bleach and stirred with a brush. One died quickly, the other spent a long time in the hospital.”

No comments:

Questions?

About Me

Once I finally admitted I couldn't drink alcohol like "normal" people, I quit. That was nearly six years ago. Food is different, though. You can't just quit eating.
Now that I've taken my head out of the sand, welcome to my effort to live The Best Life, beginning January 15, 2008. (DH is my "darling husband." Other family members are featured here.)